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Russia working on resuming flights to Egypt

Russia is working on resuming direct flights to Egypt which were halted after the downing of a Russian passenger jet.

This was highlighted at a press conference in Moscow attended by foreign ministers from both countries who are each making joint efforts to fly to Egypt once again.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the flights will only resume if Egypt provides the highest level of security.

We touched on the question of resumption of direct flights between our countries...which has decreased for known reasons.

“We touched on the question of resumption of direct flights between our countries, to help build up tourist exchange which has decreased for known reasons. And we agreed to solve the problem of resumption of flights in the shortest possible period of time,” said Lavrov.

In October, a Russian metrojet flight was brought down in Egypt, killing all 224 people on board after a bomb shattered the plane.

Most of the passengers were Russian tourists flying home from the Sharm al-Sheikh resort city, a popular destination for tourists.

Since then, Egypt has poured out millions of dollars to revive the tourism sector as the Russian plane crash dealt a massive blow to the already ailing industry.

Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said, “Many new systems of guaranteeing the security of our airports have been put in place and we will continue to cooperate in a transparent and effective manner so that we can regain the level of Russian tourism that has always been welcome to Egypt.”